Sorry for the late post today guys, I been swamped at school and work and needed to relax a little bit with my girlfriend. I didn’t forget about any of you though, so lets get started.

Rick DiPietro played well enough to come out with a win last night. However, it just so happened that Jaroslav Halak played better. It sickens me to write the same thing after almost every Islander loss this season, how the powerplay wasn’t clicking and despite plenty of shots and pressure, they didn’t have enough firepower to throw a few in the net.

The Isles also had two powerplay opportunities late in the game and if they could have gotten DP one goal before the third, it could have changed the game entirely. Sean Bergenheim, Trent Hunter and Mike Comrie had a few good chances last night, but they couldn’t finish, prompting the defense to try and make the big pass to set something up, which of course didn’t happen. What occurred instead was a bevy of turnovers that gave plethora of quality chances.

The Islanders defense wasn’t as sharp as they could have been and with the offense as horrendous as it has been, it was a recipe for disaster. Like I said DP wasn’t horrible. He gave up a rebound goal that the defense should have helped him out with and a two on one goal that was caused by sloppy play in the neutral zone. On a good day, he would have came out with a win and on any team with a decent offense or any sort of confidence, he probably would have won too. This team is just so snake-bitten right now and the only way I can see things changing is if wholesale changes are made. A few weeks ago, it seemed like this team had finally turned the corner and I understood why Garth Snow decided to not make any real moves. However, the players that could have been traded [or asked to wave their no-trade clauses] have not performed at all.

What have Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko and Josef Vasicek done for this team since the trading deadline? I know it’s kind of screwed up to place the blame solely on the three of them because everyone has underperformed, but those were the players we could have gotten rid of and at least brought new players in that could have kept the team going in the right direction. Or even better, they could have gotten draft picks for what looks to be a very deep draft and just pulled the curtain down early, instead of dragging the fans and media through what has been a horrible two-week stretch.

As of right now, the only thing that is keeping me from wanting to stick my head out the window and scream like a madman is the possibility of seeing Kyle Okposo for a few games.

Because as of right now, this team hasn’t shown any type of passion and lacks the desperation of a team battling for a [in this case, impossible] playoff spot.

Posted under Post Game Rants